The gentle breeze of the night hit Levi's face. His eyes drifted across the calm surface of the lake.
The light from the moon glistened on his face, and the twinkles of the stars created a perfect scenery.
But Levi looked past all of these. His mind drifted far, beyond the current place.
Time seemed to stand still as he played what happened earlier that day in his mind.
...
The rays of the sun poured into Levi's eyes, turning their green shimmer with gold.
Groggily, he raised his hand to cover his eyes.
"Is it morning already?" He muttered, yawning tiredly as his hand moved across the small bed.
Finally, he mustered the strength to push himself up.
"I will visit Aiden after work today," he said as he walked towards the bathroom.
His white hair was disheveled from rolling while sleeping. One of them even covered his other eyes.
He blew it with a side of his lips.
The bathroom door slammed behind him, erupting with the sound of water rushing out soon afterwards.
Levi quickly bathed and walked outside with a small towel that had loose threads and torn parts in several places.
Looking at the room well, it was obvious that he had nothing; the small table had a missing leg, with parts of the wood already breaking from termite bites.
The wardrobe was even more worn out, with no visible door, barely hanging platforms that held the meager number of clothes.
Even the bed he had stood up from was riddled with holes of different sizes.
Casually, he took a shirt from the wardrobe, a black T-shirt that had the image of a lion on the chest.
Then a pair of blue jeans.
"Thank goodness I still receive clothes from those charity organizations," he joked, not even bothering about it.
He walked out of the room, stepping into the busy road.
The hum of cars passing filled his ears, but he did not cover his ears.
It was like second nature to him now, considering how long he had lived in the small house situated just beside the road.
He walked for over 30 minutes, stopping before a small kiosk that sold snacks.
"Good morning, Aunty Clara," he greeted with a smile, but there was no one in sight.
And no response came still. He furrowed his brows as he peeped into the kiosk.
"Good morning," he greeted again at the woman with blonde hair, picking something from a low shelf.
"I heard you, but wasn't in the mood to reply," Clara replied with a cold tone as she raised her head.
In her hand was a ketchup bottle, which she placed on the table before finally looking at Levi.
Silence reigned as Levi tried to understand her words.
Then came the guillotine drop.
"I don't want you again; you are fired."
The silence broke like a fragile glass as she said those words.
Levi's entire world view seem to collapse at those simple utterances.
Then a thought crept into his mind.
"Wait, are you starting this year's festival of stars with a prank?" He asked, smiling with a wave of his palm.
"Seriously, that got me," he said, resting the palm on the kiost.
He was expecting her answer. "I didn't think you would catch on so quickly," with her smile.
His mind ached. Everything in his body prayed for Clara to be joking.
But reality was far from that.
"Does it look like I am joking?" Clara asked, her hand shoving his away, her fingers brushing against his skin like ice. "Leave now."
His breath hitched. "But I did nothing," Levi said, his eyes reddening.
"I just don't need you again," she said.
Right on cue, a soft scent entered his nose as a person brushed past him.
Walking forward was a girl with a tender face, pink hair, and brown eyes.
She stared at Levi for a few moments before scoffing.
She did not even greet Clara, just walked into the kiosk with some paper in hand.
Clara closed all openings to the kiosk, kicking Levi out without warning or goodbyes.
Levi's frame shook. He stood rooted in place, his mind still trying to understand what had just happened.
"How do I take care of Aiden now?" He muttered.
A single drop fell by his leg. Unshed tears began to fall.
He began to take slow, unsteady steps in another direction.
Passersby looked at him, but they were mere glances. No one batted an eye at the boy crying by the roadside.
3 hours later, Levi was walking into a hospital. He had brightened his mood and his eyes, once red, had returned to their normal white.
The hospital was an imposing 10-story one. A huge board with the name Vitalis Medical Pavilion hung at the very top of the building.
The entire structure was painted in a silver paint that seemed to absorb light from the surroundings.
People of various ages and genders were either walking in or going out.
The crowd was almost too much for the place to be called a hospital.
But Levi did not even care.
The hospital had enough people to answer everyone. Why wouldn't they go there?"
He walked into the reception.
The temperature suddenly dropped, and the harsh sun outside seemed to have lost its effect as he entered the air-conditioned reception of the hospital.
People sat around, on chairs, waiting for their turn.
But Levi did not wait like them; he went directly to the counter, meeting the nurse with a smile.
"Good afternoon," he greeted eagerly.
The nurse raised her head calmly, her face turning ashen as she saw Levi's face.
"Levi, the doctor wants to see you before you meet your sister," she said, forcing a smile on her face.
"Okay," he said, not noticing her forced smile.
He walked eagerly towards the doctor's office.
Although he knew the reason the doctor was calling him, he still smiled.
Soon, he reached the door to the doctor's office, a white door. On it was a tag: Doctor's office